Synonyms

beleaguered

American

[bih-lee-gerd] / bɪˈli gərd /

adjective

surrounded by military forces; besieged.

The beleaguered city of Limerick, having stood to the last, finally capitulated to the forces of William of Orange.
beset, surrounded, or overburdened by troubles.

Restoring our beleaguered oceans to health will require an emphasis on diversification and conservation, and more sensible fishing practices.

verb

the simple past tense and past participle of beleaguer.

Etymology

Origin of beleaguered

beleaguer ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

An example he cited was Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory beleaguered by a temperamental power grid and excluded from congressional and presidential elections.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

CEO Nikesh Arora put his own money on the line to buy up the beleaguered cybersecurity stock as it got weighed down by concerns about a new Anthropic AI model.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026

The president, played by a breathy, beleaguered Idris Elba and known only by his call sign, “Icon,” is of indeterminate party and ideology.

From Slate • Mar. 13, 2026

The beleaguered Aston Martin team did get out on track in first practice, albeit very briefly.

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026

All fear had left him now and the numbness identified itself as a beleaguered, voiceless resignation.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023